Michelle Kennedy is a freelance director, writer, dramaturg and bossy pants. She writes fiction, plays, erotica, music reviews, tweets (@mnancyken) and blogs. She is a horrible poet. She is also a sex educator and might totally write about that too!

A few weeks ago, a month, some time ago... I got inspired and pissed off and hopeful about myself and my peers as artists and what is possible in our cities. I was in Regina and I was having so much fun working and never wanted to stop... So read on and maybe you'll be pissed off too or maybe we'll make something together. Wouldn't that be amazing?!

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Everyone I love is an artist!

A champion of their souls; of their creativity; of their hearts and of their brains.

We're sitting around in circles making flow and work charts hoping someone will give us money or space or time or permission to BE artists.

But we already ARE! That's what we're forgetting!

Money, time and space will never EVER exist in abundance and there will always be mythical gatekeepers holding us to our circles; to our crowd sourcing; to our hope that our laurels will see us through to another day.

I love what I do 99% of the time but I also need to wake up every day and remind myself that we are fucking punks! We are suppose to be LOUD and LOUDER and reminding everyone around us that it's ok to stand up and out!

Instead of wanting and asking and begging and hoping we need to arm ourselves with what we already know; with who we already know; and MAKE SHIT HAPPEN!

Borrow, barter, steal but never beg. Have jobs, hell, like our jobs. But in our spare breaths keep our hearts full and our brains working by making things; by seeking out inspiration; by finding friends and colleagues and peers and NOT asking permission but simply doing!

(Side note here: a friend pointed out very astutely that as artists we're often afraid to ask our 'elders' for support but rarely feel comfy asking our peers...)

a bit of the set/props from "Shangri-La" at the Globe Theatre in Regina. Written and Performed by Judy Wensel. Directed by me. Design consultant Shaunna Dunn.

We are all smart and brave enough to do it. To make our lives FULL. To be additive people; to seek creation and beauty before destruction; to get messy with joy and love; and to just smile in the faces of the people who think we should be doing something "real" with our lives.

Guess what, I'm breathing and so I'm real. As real as any of you.

Let's have cooking classes in our own kitchens and teach ourselves the things we want to learn!

Let's make ridiculous movies with our friends on our ridiculous phones and show them to people at parties!

Let's make a show and put it on the Internet and call ourselves famous!

LET'S ALL BE FAMOUS!

Let's do what's in our hearts and our heads and in our little groups of brave brilliant pals!

If we have brains we have stories and if we have hearts we have the means to tell them!